16 October 2009

If there was ever a time I wish my good camera hadn't gotten stolen...

I had barely been in Melbourne for 24 hours when I took off for Sydney for a four day weekend trip. Though I was jetlagged, tired and confused Lindsay and I decided to get the really touristy tourist stuff out of the way (man, life is a chore- an absolute chore) and so we headed off from our hostel in King's Cross (more on this neighbourhood in a future blog) to walk the city.

Walking around a bend in the harbour and being smacked in the face with the huge spectre of the famed opera house and the gigantic Sydney Harbour Bridge was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Few architectural wonders are so stunning, so fabled - I had only felt this way a few times before - when seeing the huge towers of Angkor Wat, the behemoth Colleseum in Rome and the Eiffel Tower. I was giddy......

Beauty and the Dork. You decide who is who.... (PS - I am the Dork)

.....as evidenced by the hundred photos that I took from all angles.

Oh Sydney, your walk of fame includes Germaine Greer and for that I am so impressed...

From the Opera House we followed the boardwalk (exactly like the Seawall in Vancouver) until we accidentally ran into the middle of The Rocks. Lindsay kept thinking that I actually wanted to visit some stone structures when I kept squawking about The Rocks.... really it's just the name of the historic district in Sydney. It was here in the 1830's that Australia as we know it today took shape and transformed from a penal colony to a modern society. At the expense of the Aborigines, of course....

Old meets new #1 - murals dot the area showing The Rocks in 1901.

We spent some time in the wonderful (and free) Rocks Museum and the gentleman on duty whipped out a map and regaled us with historical anecdotes and jokes and painstakingly marked each pointg of interest. About 3 minutes later we left the map on a coffee shop counter and watched in horror as it was swept into the soppy wet garbage. Thankfully, we were still able to remember what he had told us - kind of.

Old Meets New ##2 - 19th century row houses and skyscrapers.

The Rocks became a hotbed of seedy port-town activity and when 3 people died from the Plague in 1901 the conservative government (now moved to a posh suburb) declared it unsafe and razed it to the ground. Jerks. Thankfully there is still enough left to make for a cool few hours walk.

A boat crosses the shadow of the bridge.

From The Rocks we crossed the monolithic Sydney Harbour Bridge, dubbed the coathanger by the locals. It was built in the 1930's and is just gigantic. I had my heart set on doing the Bridge Climb - you are harnessed in and actually traverse the huge arcs of the structure, up to the summit and back down- until I found out that it was 169 dollars. We walked instead across the normal way instead....

Oh you pretty thing...

From the centre of the bridge we couldn't resist snapping more shots of the Opera House - it is ridiculously pretty from any angle. Though its critics have called it "a typewriter full of scallop shells" it is almost universally adored. Despite the controversy surrounding its completion it was made a UNESCO site in 2007 and is considered the most iconic building of the 20th century. So yeah, you bet your sweet ass I took a lot of photos.

The best gate ever. St Peter guards a piece of crap compared....

Across the bridge I insisted we stroll the boardwalk of Luna Park, Sydney's retro theme park. It is a mix of Coney Island (before they went and executed that elephant...*adjusts collar* RIP Topsy) Australiana and retro 50's kitsch. I loved it.

Dear California Adventure, you suck. Love, Violet Dear.

How amazing is this? The Sydney Harbour Bridge, an old timey ferris wheel and all of the 'fairy floss' that you can eat. It is actually kind of embarrassing how many things in Luna Park I took photos of. But the midway was so much better than the usual toothless prison-tattooed carny operated scam fest we have at home, I couldn't resist.

More than a little bit terrifying.

Do I even have to say anything?

This game is much cheaper than the others.

I could have stayed in Luna Park all day - they even serve wine (how very Australian of them) but we were tired and hungry....

Back in the land of good beer.

...but not too tired and hungry to resist a drink with this view. Sydney, you big beautiful lady!

Our perfect day concluded with an hour around Sydney's big sexy harbour - the largest inner city harbour in the world and certainly the most beautiful. We managed to time out trip to take in the sunset and it only cost 5 bucks. I don't need no fancy yacht!

All in all - a great day- and I am about to start another! Let's see what we get up to.... I'll let you know.

Gaaargh, I didn't even *think* to mention Luna Park!! So happy you went there :) I worked my way through uni at Luna Park, on those laughing clowns and scary faced men (that I think inspired that memorable Buffy episode)

I lived in Kings Cross/ Potts Point/ Elizabeth Bay and Darlinghurst for 10 years and love the place, so look forward to your impressions...

I hope you get to Newtown and Watsons Bay (guess we'll find out shortly) Hit Enmore Rd and all the gothy shops for a bit of fun :)

Love your blog btw! I've been following it for a few months now. Seems like you and I are opposite paths (I was in Australia last month and now in Asia). Anyway, I was equally obsessed with the opera house and thought you might enjoy my posting here: http://adventuresinfunemployment.blogspot.com/2009/09/blue-parrot-unusual-hostel-in-sydney.html

You can also link to my photos from my blog, but I only posted a few of the best of the opera house since I didn't want to bore everyone with the 50 others I snapped.

Are you by any chance staying at the Blue Parrot? If so, you might really get a kick out of the posting. Safe travels!

Who's That Girl?

I'm a writer, Masters student and neon sign historian who loves Herzog films, late night poutine and petting dogs. I currently reside in London, England where I am completing a postgrad in Heritage Studies. These are my ramblings about architecture, food, pop culture and Buddhism.